Westpac Little Ripper Life Saver (unmanned aerial vehicle)
Date2018
Object number00055701
NameDrone
MediumCarbon Fibre and Alloy
DimensionsOverall: 720 × 1630 × 1630 mm, 7.7 kg
Copyright© The Ripper Group
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift of The Ripper Group
Collections
DescriptionUnmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) known as The Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver. With the main body being bright yellow the UAV is easily spotted and features six foldable rotors and two landing slides. The front of the vehicle features a red ‘W’ (Westpac logo) and the side reads ‘Little Ripper'.HistoryThe Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was developed to conduct remote search, rescue and lifesaving operations. It can carry and deploy a variety of rescue pods suited for different situations or terrain. These include a self-inflating marine rescue pods (two or four person), a Land Pod© or a Snow Pod©. The reusable self-inflating marine rescue pod is also situationally adaptable and can include a SOLAS light and retro-reflective tape for visibility at night, a Shark Shield ™ and a small sea anchor for stability in rough weather.
The Lipper Ripper Lifesaver also conducts imaging or mapping of resources such as being adapted to deploy purple dye for visual identification of rip currents. In partnership with the University of Technology, Sydney, the UAV also carries a world-first AI-enabled marine threat detection system, which was used in crocodile spotting along Queensland beaches in 2019 and widespread shark surveillance.
The Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver UAV has had significant impact on Surf Life Saving operations since its deployment in NSW Department of Primary Industry- funded trials in early 2018. During those trials, it was used to perform the first aerial drone rescue at sea. This UAV is an exemplar for adaptive technologies, with success in its primary function (rescue operations) yet modifiable for additional purposes such as shark and croc- spotting thermal imaging of wildlife, and as a beach and coastal landscape monitoring system. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the Little Ripper UAV was trialled in assisting to stop the spread of the virus as a means of widespread spraying and effective sanitising solution.
SignificanceThis Westpac Little Ripper Life Saver was used in the global first drone based surf rescue off Lennox Heads, NSW on 18 January 2018 and later deployed along the NSW South Coast to conduct thermal imaging and detection of wildlife during the 2019-2020 bushfires.
The Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver is a device that significantly affects future operations and capabilities of surf and land rescue, as well as enviromental management and monitoring across Australia.
